


what you see

by ashley_in_the_know



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Canon Divergence, F/M, Gen, moral implications of scrying on your friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-19
Updated: 2018-04-19
Packaged: 2019-04-25 00:10:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14366709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashley_in_the_know/pseuds/ashley_in_the_know
Summary: Vax asks Keyleth for a favor while they wait for the rest of Vox Machina to complete their Slayer's Take trial. She should have known it would be more trouble than it was worth...





	what you see

“No.”

Vax’s face doesn’t just fall. It’s like his entire body crumples. “What? Kiki, why not?”

Keyleth sighs. “Because it’s a complete invasion of your sister’s privacy?” she tries.

Vax slumps even lower in his chair. “It’s not like I’m asking you to read her diary or anything. I just...I’ve never been apart from her for this long before, and I need to know that she’s alright.”

She bites her lip, conflicted. Because she gets it. Kind of. She’s worried for her friends’ safety, anxious to see them again, and she can’t say the idea of a quick scry, just to make sure they’re okay, isn’t super tempting.

And she isn’t even Vax. She isn’t the one who’s never been separated from his twin for more than twelve hours before this. If Keyleth is twitchy with anxiety, Vax is practically vibrating with it. Hunting the rakshasa had helped, had given him focus. But,  _of course_ , the thing just had to threaten Vex. And then they just  _had_ to be the first group back. (Honestly? She’s kind of shocked it’s taken him this long to ask.) So it’s not like she doesn’t understand.

But it still feels wrong. Vex is one of the few members of Vox Machina that’s super intense about their privacy (what little they’re afforded, anyway). She’s positive that Grog and Scanlan wouldn’t care, and Percy would be, at worst, slightly annoyed. But Vex? She’s pretty sure that Vex would have a problem with being spied on (and it  _is_ spying, no matter what Scanlan says). And Keyleth’s already dreading the “hey, we killed the flying carpet” conversation. She  _really_ doesn’t want to add “I spied on you because your brother asked me to” to that.

She turns to Tiberius for back up; she can usually rely on him to be a voice of reason. “Help me out here, Tibs?”

He hesitates though, and she has to resist the urge to growl, because  _really_? “I would normally take your side, your Highness,” he starts, “but well, dragons are buttholes, and our friends have been gone for an awfully long time.”

“But Murtin said that it’s normal for contracts to take a while,” she protests. “We were, like, freakishly fast. He and Vanessa both said it’s too soon to worry. We should trust them, right?”

“Keyleth, please,” Vax says, and the desperation in his voice gives her pause. “All I need to know is that Vex’ahlia is alive, nothing more. Please.”

He’s giving her sad bear eyes, and gods, he looks like he’s about to cry. “Okay, okay, fine,” she relents (and she's probably going to regret this, but she can't say no to the sad bear eyes).

Vax brightens almost immediately. “Really? You’ll do it?”

She sighs. “Yes, okay, so you can stop with the Trinket eyes.” That gets a genuine, if slightly watery, smile. “Give me a few minutes to get the stuff I need, alright?”

They retreat to one of the rooms that they’ve been provided, and Keyleth prepares for the ritual, gathering her components and meditating on the space. She takes a deep breath and lets it out. “Okay, let’s see if this works.”

“Wait,” Vax says. “If?”

Keyleth nods. “If Vex notices that someone is trying to scry on her, which she could because your sister is  _insanely_ perceptive, she could just...shut me out?” She shrugs. “But it is pretty late so...fingers crossed that she’s asleep?”

Vax mimics her shrug. “Alright. Do your thing.”

She closes her eyes and starts the incantation, reaching out with her mind, trying to connect to Vex, wherever she might be. At first there’s only darkness, and she’s afraid for a moment that the spell failed.

Suddenly, there’s a flash of white, and she catches a glimpse of a mountain before her vision is pulled into a forest. There’s another flash, and, when her eyes focus, she can see Percy and Vex taking watch together, huddled close by the campfire.

She can just see Scanlan’s tiny form on the edge of her vision, can hear Grog’s thunderous snores, and there are two unfamiliar bundles that must be their companions from the Slayer’s Take. She’s satisfied, is about to end the spell, when Vex’s voice catches her attention.

“So, darling,” she says, nudging Percy, “you said in the dragon’s lair that you wanted to talk. So let’s talk.”

Percy sighs, stammers out a response. “Um, yes,” he says. “Well, mostly I just wanted to say that I’m very glad you didn’t die back there.”

Keyleth shouldn’t be watching this. Mostly because Percy is looking at Vex the way he normally looks at Vex when she isn’t paying attention. But Vex is paying attention, and Keyleth can’t bring herself to look away.

“I’m glad you didn’t die in there either,” Vex says, and her voice is softer, less casually confident than normal. “But, I’m not the only one who almost died, and I can’t help but notice you’re not having a late night heart-to-heart with Scanlan or Lyra.”

He sighs again, and he gets that look that means he’s about to do something really brave or really stupid. Or both. Usually both. “That’s because I don’t want to do  _this_ with Scanlan or Lyra,” he says, and then he leans over and kisses her.

He pulls away after just a moment, watching Vex nervously for a reaction. She looks stunned, but there’s a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth. “Oh. Okay,” she says before pouncing, knocking Percy flat on his back and leaning down to kiss him.

Keyleth ends the scry abruptly, her cheeks burning, eyes wide. “They’re fine,” she says, her voice higher than normal. She clears her throat. “Everyone’s fine. Everyone’s alive. Nothing out of the ordinary happening at all.”

Vax raises an eyebrow, frowning slightly. “You alright, Kiki?” he asks. “You’re acting a little...weird.”

“I’m fine,” she says brightly. “Just fine. But I am _never_ scrying on your sister ever again.”


End file.
